The recent leadership changes at a major Shanghai newspaper sends a signal to the city's media that it must be more careful with its reporting ahead of the Communist Party's 18th national congress, when a new leadership will be unveiled.

Lu Yan was dismissed as publisher of the Oriental Morning Post, and Sun Jian was suspended as deputy editor-in-chief, on July 18.

Two senior executives of a major Shanghai newspaper were removed or suspended yesterday, sources said, a day after a newspaper in Guangdong saw its editor-in-chief removed and a considerable amount of coverage cut.

I am back in the US for the summer, for the first time in almost a year, and feeling Chinese. First there was the marathon flight from Hong Kong via Shanghai to New York. It had been nearly two years since I'd seen Shanghai and I was fortunate enough to again see at first hand the ever-changing city.

Mainland land sales were mixed in the first half of the year depending on the type of market: tier-one locations reported declines in revenues during the period, while second-tier cities saw land sales go up.

The Indigo chain of hotels prides itself on making its designs reflect local neighbourhoods, and its first Asian branch is no exception. As soon as you enter the Hotel Indigo Shanghai, everywhere you turn, you see subtle - and not so subtle - reminders of the colourful old Bund.

Shanghai is under pressure to chase industrial output growth as an increasing number of manufactures relocate facilities to other parts of the country, baulking at the city's higher land and labour costs.

Top-rated Hong Kong university students are Shanghai-bound for a six-week study tour, the first of a series planned by the government under a deal to improve financial co-operation between the two cities.

The 22 students from nine universities will undergo a four-week work placement at the Shanghai offices of well-known financial institutions.

China Overseas Land and Investment yesterday warned the worst was yet to come for the property market as it defended its low-price strategy for the launch of a luxury residential project in Shanghai, saying it would not hurt its margins.

A sell-off of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals' stocks showed signs of abating yesterday after management denied it was being investigated by Hong Kong and mainland securities watchdogs over alleged accounting fraud.

The overland Silk Road has a cousin, the Maritime Silk Route, which began much earlier, carried more cargo and visited more cities than the famous camel caravans that crossed the deserts of Central Asia.